With three horizontal lines on each side of his mulatto cheeks complementing the three vertical lines on his forehead, the abaja tribal marks beautifying the face of Adejuyigbe Adefunmi were not sculpted in the heart of Yorubaland; they were incised in the United States of America, when the prince was eight days old.
His father, Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I, who founded Oyotunji, an African village near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina, joined his ancestors on February 11, 2005, after living for seven decades and six years.
Oba Adefunmi I embarked on the journey to the great beyond after decades on the throne, bestowing a legacy of Yoruba cultural reawakening. His son and successor, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II, was the 19th among 23 children, all of whom were born to Efuntola in the polygamous family he ran in the US.
Tragically, the successor Oba Adefunmi II succumbed to multiple knife injuries inflicted by his elder sister, Akiba Kasale Meredith, 53, on Monday, July 29, 2024, after the village celebrated Sango festival the previous Saturday and Sunday.
But, in a viral video recorded years before his death, the 47-year-old Oba Adefunmi II, spoke with pride about the vision and enduring relevance of Oyotunji, saying, “Oyotunji African Village is one of its kind in North America today. It’s the only African village with a king, king’s wives, with chiefs, a school, a library and all of those good things. Oyotunji was configured to be a monastery of sorts for the reconfiguration, restoration, and, of course, researching our traditional African culture. We’re descendants of West Africa. Of course, as we know, people without a culture are lost.”
He continued, “The future of Oyotunji remains relevant in that we continue to educate, we continue to cater to all of those who are soul-searching, looking for their ancestors and who they are. By coming to Oyotunji, you can get a snapshot of how our ancestors lived before. You are going to get a splash of Africa in one day, from the cuisine to the dancing, the drumming, the atmosphere, and the heat from the sun is really reminiscent of Africa.
“Our gates are always open to people to come and we offer them spiritual services. We do not practice a religion, we practice a culture, and that’s why we want people to know about Oyotunji, and you can be a part of this culture.”
Explaining how Oyotunji drew its spiritual legitimacy from Ile-Ife, Oba Adefunmi II recalled his father’s visit to Nigeria in 1981 for the Orisa World Conference, and how Ooni Okunade Sijuwade made his father king.
Adefunmi said, “My father visited Ile-Ife on November 16, 1981, for the Orisa World Conference held at the University of Ife. Meanwhile, Oyotunji had been in existence for about 11 years, while the Yoruba culture movement had been in existence in North America for about 20 years. Baba came to the conference and Oba Sijuwade was there.
